Due to an delayed recovery from a medical emergency for our Newsletter Chair Mike Crouse, this newsletter is a bit late. Thank you to Meredith Green for stepping up to help me get this out. If you sent a story to Mike that isn’t in this newsletter, resend to Meredith Green (meredith.rotary@gmail.com) for the next month. – Rose Bowman, District Governor.
It is well known that the Rotary Foundation is one of my passions. My goal is to have 100% of the clubs donate something to both the Annual Fund and to Polio Plus. November is a great month to focus on making this happen. At this point I am proud to say that 76 of our 88 clubs have already contributed $135, 433 to the Annual Fund. Thank you so much; I am sure the other 12 clubs will join us in this effort – in fact they may have but have not yet submitted the funds to RI. I do recommend submitting funds turned in to the club each month – or at a minimum once a quarter. Of course we will continue to grow those funds as the year progresses.
The Club Presidents should remember that at PETS last March, District 5020 won the theme scarf and tie that RI President Ravi had donated to PETS. The tie goes to the club with the largest per capita per member to the Annual Fund. The scarf goes to the club with the largest per capita per member to Polio Plus. I know a few clubs that have set their sights on winning; I hope all of you get competitive. The per capita formula doesn’t penalize small clubs vs large. We will use May 31, 2016 giving numbers so that we can present them at the District Conference.
This is a great month to recognize all of your members who have Paul Harris Fellows, and those who are Benefactors and/or Bequest Society members.
I received a delivery from Rotary International. I was puzzled since I had not ordered anything. Lo and behold, in it are Club Foundation Recognition Banners. I have already visited most of the clubs who will receive a banner, I will try to return to deliver them, if not we will find a way to get the banners where they belong. These are for the 2014-2015 Rotary year.
Meanwhile I want to give a big Shout Out to the following: (EREY= Every Rotarian Every Year in your club)
Lacey Club -- #1 in the district for Per Capita giving at $456.62 per member, EREY and 100% Sustaining Member Club.
Sequim Sunrise -- #2 in the district for Per Capita giving at $364.64 per member and EREY.
Oak Bay, Victoria -- #3 in the district for Per Capita giving at $349.65
Port Hardy – EREY and 100% Sustaining Members
Tacoma Narrows – EREY and 100% Sustaining Members
Other EREY clubs are: Chehalis, Clover Park, Courtenay, Duncan, Duncan Daybreak, Gateway-Thurston County, Parksville AM, Sooke, Twin Cities (Centralia-Chehalis)
EREY is so easy, every Rotarian simply needs to donate no less than $10.00 to the Foundation.
I had to temporarily suspend my club visit schedule since my husband took a bad fall on October 4 and is home recuperating after a short hospital stay. I so appreciate the support and understanding Leon and I have received. We will be there to visit all of you before the end of this Rotary year.
Susanne Rea World's Greatest Meal To End Polio arrives in Vancouver on Nov. 30th to start her District 5020 Tour on Vancouver Island BC. Susanne is a wonderful inspiration and worker in the fight to end polio . Her first meeting is Breakfast at Port Alberni , BC on Dec 01st , Dec.02nd is Breakfast meeting in South Cowichan ( Mill Bay ) and then Dinner meeting in Chemainus , Dec.03rd is a joint Luncheon with Victoria, Oak Bay, Harbourside, Saanich, Sydney and Victoria Downtown at the Union Club , Victoria , then a Private Dinner at Joan & Terry Toone’s home in Saanich, Dec.04th is a luncheon meeting in Nanaimo at the Bastion Hotel, Dec.05th will be the WGM Polio Plus Gala “ The Faces of Polio” with both Susanne Rea and Joan Toone speaking , Fouray Barbershop Quartet entertaining and a Live and Silent Auction at Cottonwood Golf Club starting at 5.30pm , Dec.07 is a Luncheon for Duncan and Duncan Daybreak Clubs Dec.08th Susanne leaves to return to Cairns, Australia.
For more information, contact Cheryl Leukefeld at cherylis@shaw.ca.
The online registration for the District Leadership Training Assembly (DLTA) will be available here on the District 5020 website on November 30, 2015. We invite you to check back then.
Meanwhile, you can make your hotel reservations now, to secure our District 5020 special block rate discount. Our hotel in Victoria is the luxurious Marriott Inner Harbour Hotel, and it will fill up. You can learn more about its plush accommodations and make your reservations here.
DLTA is District 5020's premier annual educational and fellowship event, this year held in beautiful Victoria April 1 -3, 2016. Bring your family and friends for some vacation time while you connect and learn at DLTA 2016!
Editor Note: Treacy Duerfeldt is the District 5020 Rotary Foundation (TRF) Fundraising Chair
As a TRF Zealot I sometimes get my message lost in the details of how contributions are recognized, Club standings, numbers of projects, big numbers, etc. At our Conference this year I had the chance to ask some questions of a man from Africa who had first hand experience with the impact of our projects on his community. I was amazed at how simple his answers were.
Without a community well, how many miles do people walk for water? The answer initially was six miles...then it was noted that the trip is typically made four times a day by the mother of the house or children old enough to carry water safely. I did some math (as is my nature) and that's 24 miles per day. I then asked how many families are served by a well in a typical community. The answer was about a thousand. Twenty four thousand miles per day, or nearly 9 million miles per year. District 520 has nearly 400 wells to it's credit....3.5 BILLION miles per year.
I then asked, "After a community has water, what is done next?" The answer was logical...toilets and their education to proper use. I ask what the IMPACT of toilets were in the form of disease...."How many people are sick when there is not a proper toilet or similar sanitation system?" The answer was about 50%. Fifty percent was "on average" since during cholera season it peaks at about an 80% sickness rate. It left me wondering who would have been left to fetch water but I followed up...."When a community has sanitation, what is the sickness rate then?" The answer was 15%. A huge impact.
The next question came from a curiosity of how a village might have more time than ever and while healthier than ever...What kind of education projects have an impact? The answer in short was about whiteboards and laptops with Internet connection. The impact was six more years of schooling on average with class sizes reduced from over 50 to under 30.
The average cost of 9 Million miles per year? About $6,000. We certainly have gotten good at these...and they last for quite a while. That's less than $0.00067 US dollars per mile first year only cost. As we've enjoyed Foundation Month and conclude or year end giving season, ask yourself: "Where else can my dollars have this kind of impact?"
Good News! Our District 5020 earned a special award for being the leader for PolioPlus donations in our Zone in 2014 – 2015.
There are ten Districts in Zone 25 and we were Number One! The award for our District’s generosity was presented to Past District Governor Michael Procter at the Zone Institute held in Hawaii in October.
Many thanks to all of you whose generosity made this possible. Let’s continue our support so we can END POLIO NOW.
In October, Rotary Club of Campbell River had their 4th Annual Pumpkins for Polio Auction. The week before Rotarians had picked up their pumpkin after the meeting, took them home and used their fantasy and creativity to return them for the auction.
It was a spectacular sight to see those wonderful creations lined up. The members were brought in the right mood with a short video presentation by Bono (U2) followed by the “Pumpkins for Polio” song performed by Pieter Koeleman accompanied by Toni Fantillo on the accordion.
Then an enthused Todd Peachey started the auction. As usual he got the bidding going by stimulating, inspiring and sometimes appointing a bid to the members. In the mean time there was a lot of fun and fellowship.
Afterwards the proceeds totaled an amount of more than $2100 towards END POLIO NOW.
Two days later we had a 2nd Pumpkins for Polio auction, this time in the Campbell River Men’s Club. 26 Pumpkins were painted carved decorated by members of the CR Arts Council, some First Nations carvers. The proceeds were now $ 1900.
All the pumpkins were donated by Discovery Foods, Willow Point location and Coastal Black Farms in Black Creek.
The total proceeds are over $ 4000 and with the double matching by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as well by the Canadian Federal Government the RC of Campbell River will effectively contribute to the End Polio Now campaign more than $ 20,000.
The 2016 Rotary World Peace Conference, held January 15-16 in Ontario, California, will be an incredible opportunity to exchange ideas and solutions with leaders and experts in conflict prevention and resolution.The mission of the Rotary World Peace Conference 2016 is to bring together experts with solutions to major issues that are occurring in our personal lives, homes, schools, businesses and communities, not just in Southern California, but around the world. We are inviting leaders from health care, academia, government, public safety, religions, business, and communities to meet together to share the solutions presented by experts. The format will allow for action plans to be developed such that real and measureable actions can be undertaken when attendees return home. The conference includes five plenary sessions, more than 80 panel and facilitated sessions among 13 different tracks of training.
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Susanne Rea 
As a TRF Zealot I sometimes get my message lost in the details of how contributions are recognized, Club standings, numbers of projects, big numbers, etc. At our Conference this year I had the chance to ask some questions of a man from Africa who had first hand experience with the impact of our projects on his community. I was amazed at how simple his answers were.
In October, Rotary Club of Campbell River had their 4th Annual Pumpkins for Polio Auction. The week before Rotarians had picked up their pumpkin after the meeting, took them home and used their fantasy and creativity to return them for the auction.
The 2016 Rotary World Peace Conference, held January 15-16 in Ontario, California, will be an incredible opportunity to exchange ideas and solutions with leaders and experts in conflict prevention and resolution.The mission of the Rotary World Peace Conference 2016 is to bring together experts with solutions to major issues that are occurring in our personal lives, homes, schools, businesses and communities, not just in Southern California, but around the world. We are inviting leaders from health care, academia, government, public safety, religions, business, and communities to meet together to share the solutions presented by experts. The format will allow for action plans to be developed such that real and measureable actions can be undertaken when attendees return home. The conference includes five plenary sessions, more than 80 panel and facilitated sessions among 13 different tracks of training.